Look Beyond What You See

“Lessons will be of a different kind today, for both of you,” Wesley announces at breakfast. I arch an eyebrow at him over the rim of my delicate porcelain teacup. There are so many places I would rather be than stuck in this dining room with both of Dmitri’s parents for the second time in twenty-four hours (this has never happened before; we usually dine with either Wesley or Zinaida but not both), such as on the roof reading or in the training room practicing or anywhere at all, if Dmitri and perhaps a horse would be my only company.

“How do you mean, Father?” Dmitri inquires. He’s apparently less displeased and more curious than I am. I think he dislikes the finer points of Russian grammar and word choice we’ve been talking about with our literature studies lately and is rather grateful for any sort of reprieve.

“With the possibility of war, I think it’s only right that the two of you begin training in earnest to use your abilities. Aerys, you have a lot of potential and talent, but no real combative skill to speak of yet. As for you, Son, it’s high time you learned to handle yourself against a water elemental you’re not immune to.”

“What do you mean? We don’t associate with that clan,” Dmitri protests.

“We didn’t associate with that clan, until the possibility of war made it necessary to start hunting for allies wherever allies could be found and using the resources available to us. Dmitri, Aerys, I’d like to introduce your new combat tutor, Giacomo.”

The first thing I notice about the young man who steps out of the room adjoining to the dining room (in a clearly prearranged entrance) is his blonde hair, semi-solidified into rope-like masses that hang just past his shoulders. The second thing I notice is his well-defined torso, which is made partially visible by the loose peasant’s shirt he’s wearing under an unlaced leather vest. The third thing I notice is his vibrant blue eyes, unmistakably elemental, and the way they fixate on me as soon as he enters the room and remain that way even as he bows in greeting.

The fourth thing I notice, naturally, is the way Dmitri stiffens and glowers when he realises what Giacomo is looking at with such licentious interest.

“A pleasure to meet you,” the newcomer greets us. His voice is pleasantly raspy.

“The pleasure is ours, I’m sure,” Dmitri replies tightly.

Why did Wesley think this was a good idea? Even now the lightning-bender is clueless; he’s picked up on Dmitri’s obvious resentment easily enough, but he is clearly perplexed as to the cause.

“Well then. I expect you all to begin training as soon as breakfast is over,” Wesley declares. Perhaps he is trying to stifle any protest Dmitri might make. I expect the protests will come in the training room later regardless. “Giacomo, you’re clear on the terms of your contract?”

“Crystal, Your Excellency,” Giacomo replies suavely.

Dmitri eats the rest of his breakfast uncharacteristically slowly. Zinaida attempts to facilitate small talk between we three younger folk, but her son is unresponsive and shoots me dark looks whenever I respond to attempts to engage me in conversation with Giacomo. I wish she would stop. This is tremendously awkward. Isn’t there anything I can do?

“Dmitri, please, this is awful,” I whisper to my fiancé as I lean over to him. “I’m not eager for training, exactly, but only to get out of this terrible tense awkwardness.”

He mutters something unintelligible under his breath. I sigh heavily and resign myself to enduring still more tortures at the hands of Zinaida’s (justified) ideas of propriety and my fiancé’s sullen resentment of the new combat tutor. Personally, I see no cause for Dmitri to be so irritable. He ought to trust me to handle myself around another man, even if that man is fairly attractive.

Regardless of his trust for me, Dmitri does finish his breakfast almost immediately after his mutterings cease. Mayhap his affection for me trumps even the resentment he feels towards this combat tutor, or mayhap he has seen the sense in going someplace where his parents cannot attempt to regulate his conduct towards that individual. Dmitri leads the way to the library, keeping me close beside him with Giacomo trailing behind, and we use the entrance to the training area that goes through his father’s study for the first time. Why not use the passages, rather than invading his father’s privacy?

“Well, you’re a friendly pair,” Giacomo comments sourly once we’ve entered the training area and are presumably out of earshot of any servants or interfering Berkeleys.

“My apologies. Neither of us much cares for mornings,” I excuse us politely. Dmitri lights the torches, still looking peeved.

“Nice place you have here. Well equipped. Perfect, I’d say, though I’m a bit perplexed about training you, lady. What was your name again?”

“Aerys.”

“That’s it. Unusual name, but lovely all the same. Now, Aerys, you seem lovely and all, but you’re clearly not an elemental, unlike this family you’re staying with and myself, and I’m rather unsure how I’m meant to train you in the ways of elementals. His Excellency back there was terribly vague--”

“What? You mean...you mean...they’re not human?” I gasp, clutching my head with feigned pain at the feigned realisation and reeling backwards. Dmitri is suddenly solicitously at my side, steadying me and playing along brilliantly. The water bender seems woefully perplexed. I pretend to faint in Dmitri’s arms while causing a rainstorm to open up over Giacomo’s head. I’ve gotten a bit better at control over the past few weeks.

“What the devil?!” Giacomo splutters, shaking water from his unusual hairstyle. I bounce out of Dmitri’s arms with a self-satisfied smirk. A glance at Dmitri reveals a mirror of my expression.

“She has magic,” Dmitri explains briefly. “A lot of it.”

“So I’ve gathered.” He shakes his head a few more times. This news seems to be quite a shock to him. “Well, everything His Excellency mentioned earlier makes much more sense now.” I grace him with a witches’ light above his head to signify his enlightenment.

“Glad to be of service. Where would you have us begin?” Dmitri questions brusquely.

“Well, um. His Excellency said he wanted combat training for the lady and experience fighting water elementals for you. Perhaps you and I could demonstrate proper fighting technique for Aerys?” The gleam in Dmitri’s eyes ought to be signal enough in itself that this is a terrible idea, but Giacomo seems unnaturally at ease about his suggestion.

“As you wish.”

***~O~***